The Magic Trackpad has been the focus of the furious Apple rumor mill for months, but it went from vaporware to reality with today’s launch. Basically, it takes the popular multitouch trackpad found on Apple’s MacBooks and MacBook Pros, feeds it steroids and sets it next to your desktop Mac’s keyboard.

The Magic Trackpad is a wireless Bluetooth device that lets you perform all the same gestures as on Apple’s notebook trackpads – scrolling, swiping to page back and forth, pinching-and-zooming to resize images. It’s the same depth as Apple’s wireless Bluetooth keyboard, and set at the same angle.

It feels just like using a slightly larger version of a MacBook or MacBook Pro pad. And we mean exactly, right down to the multitouch gestures and whole-pad click. Yes, it clicks. There’s also a new gesture, if you’re keeping track – a three-finger move that lets you drag windows around (very helpful), though you give up the functionality of being to navigate stuff like iPhoto galleries with a swipe (it’s an option you can toggle in preferences – you have a choice). . . .

At $69, it will be attractive to a lot of Mac users, though trackpads are not everyone’s cup of tea. It also will be interesting is to see how ergonomically friendly it is. It may look and act cool, but how kind will